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Len Lauk: How Volunteering with VAC Helped me Secure Paid Work

Len Lauk, local Camden resident, began volunteering with VAC in July 2013 to help with admin and ICT. Len quickly took on more roles and was soon instrumental in helping VAC to demonstrate impact through it’s case study programme.

Here Len tells us why volunteering was so important for him and how it helped him secure paid work in a local Camden civil society organisation.

“For my part there’s no way I would have got a job in the voluntary sector if I wasn’t volunteering at VAC. Also, doing this kind of work in the voluntary sector in the community you live in, even if you might make more money somewhere else, has an effect on your happiness in a way.

I’d been earning a living using a very specific bit of software that just became useless over time, so since I’ve been volunteering at VAC I’ve acquired an enormous amount of marketable skills, which means I can apply for a wider range of jobs. I’ve become way more employable by volunteering at VAC. Within less than a year I had transformed my CV so that I can show some current experience at a going concern.

And the thing about VAC is it’s an umbrella organisation so you’re at the centre of the voluntary sector of Camden. Another thing about volunteering is when you’re unemployed and you’re just sending CVs out it just grinds you down. To have somewhere to go to and know that you’re contributing to your community as a volunteer, but you’re also gaining some skills and experience, and it turned into paid work. It’s really transformed my life. There’s no way I would have gotten work like this unless I’d volunteered.

Len now works as the Information Officer at Healthwatch Camden and continues to volunteer with VAC on our Impact and Case Study Programme.